Now that the whole New Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Promotion in Europe is drawing to an end, it's time to move on from topics such as who's been picked by Club Nintendo, what makes Europe so special and what the flip Nintendo of America was up to when it all went down. Those topics are so ten minutes ago, and now we move onto the important issue of when the actual full systems come out.
Assuming the launch range follows those of Japan and Australia / New Zealand, we have two New 3DS XL and two New 3DS standard models on the way. There'll be Metallic Blue and Metallic Black XL systems, while those opting for the smaller models and those rad faceplates have the choice of White or Black - both of the smaller models have SNES coloured face buttons.
That's all lovely, and while we're still waiting for a release date we do have some pricing emerging in Europe. We've been under the impression - based on pricing elsewhere - that the New models will step in at the full price of the current hardware; we expect the older models to have a drop when that happens, which is only logical. Thankfully GameStop in Italy has opened pre-orders (without a release date) that show this trend coming through, albeit at the high-end of the pricing for current models.
- New Nintendo 3DS XL - €199.98
- New Nintendo 3DS - €169.98
As for GameStop in the US right now, it's continuing to flog current systems with a $30 discount, with XL's recommended price in the country being $199.99.
Though current models often - but not always - come with a bundled game at that sort of price, this seems pretty reasonable considering the various features in the upgrade. It's also worth noting that in the UK £179.99 ambassador bundle the individual system unit - which is the smaller model - was attributed a value of £155.99 for the country, so the pricing picture is coming together.
Are you happy with this pricing and the general idea of the New Nintendo 3DS being close to the equivalent full prices for the older models? Let us know in the comments below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source gamestop.it, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 76
sound about as expected.
I'll probably get a standard New 3DS because oh my gosh, if your eyes are used to the pixel-free resolutions of mobile phones, the pixel mess of the 3DS XL seems pretty weird to look at.
Come on! My wallet is itching to buy one! Anytime before MM3D would be nice.
...and NoA is still silent as always. :/
I honestly don't know if I care anymore. I did, I really did. But it all just feels too manipulative now. Just me, I know, but I am sick of Reggie and No A.
"what the flip Nintendo of America was up to when it all went down"
Maybe somebody spilled a glass of water on Reggie?
Shouldn't Nintneod be the one to announce the launch date before the retailers do?
Good prices.Guess I'll start saving up
Pretty good. Will most likely be $170 for Standard and $200 for XL in NA. I'll pre-order the standard one..as soon as they go up and the release date is announced. Just announce the date already, stop beating around the bush Nintendo lol.
so... in other words, it's the same price as a normal 3DS and the normal 3DS's will probably get a price drop.
Hopefully that's the price model throughout Europe. Ambassador bundle was €200 so if the XL model comes to that Ill be glad I held off
I just want to hear solid news from NoA already. Is Reggie in a coma or what. I've already decided on the XL. I think the faceplates look ugly and I like glossy finish on my systems. Sue me.
Decisions. I already knew that my next 3DS would be an XL, and then they announced the New 3DS. Now I can't decide which one to get. I'm going to have to see them first.
Do a majoras mask xl bundle and im all in
Yeah, I didn't get the email, but a friend of mine did and offered to get one for me as he couldn't afford it, but I'd rather see the console first and try it out in store before making a decision on whether to get the regular or XL size.
It really does seem like all the pieces are coming together for an imminent announcement. A low-key Direct or PR release put out tomorrow would (optimistically) be the best time to do it.
And I can't say much about NA, but I could imagine that the New 3DS could be publicly available before the end of this month for Europe. Considering they were able to get the Ambassador version in folks' hands in less than 24 hours, I'd bet they have a warehouse full of regular ones, just waiting for the right time to announce and release.
Hm...seems fair. Hopefully NoA will be as fair, becaus as soon as the exact date comes in, I'm pre-ordering.
Time to start pinching those pennies.
Sounds right
still pretty expensive compared to Japan. i ordered mine from Japan for 150 pounds with monster hunter 4g and a screen protector and a postage. why uk/europe is always so damn expensive?! :/ btw standard model feels so much better now. was using xl before but the new 3ds standard feels so better size wise. it feels more portable than xl. i'd, recommend that one
Yeah, I'm not liking the lack of information for NA. We need a Nintendo Direct in the near future.
I figured about £180 for the XL in UK...I paid £175 for my Aus NN3DXL and I've been LOVING it the past 2 weeks, it's much faster and jumping out of a game to google some questions in the broswer then hopping back into the game is smooth and quick. That nub works much better then you realise, I'm playing the heck out of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and it showcases how well the New 3DS works.
@Xiao_Pai It is so annoying... they kept silent about the New 3DS, Donkey Kong Country VC games, DS Virtual Console,etc, etc.
I hope that NA gets this at the same time Europe gets it...there are enough enhancements that I would like to get one. I plan to get the standard one since portability trumps screen size for me.
If these prices are true then these will be well within a reasonable range. Not sure when I will get one but I am definitely interested!
My Ambassador N3ds just arrived, its a big upgrade from my old original 3ds, its superfast, the 3d is great now and the web browser is decent at last - loading times are a big improvement. Each to their own but I'm struggling to see the appeal of an XL version this time. Glad i went for it.
Just got mine today. Posted my mini review on the 3DS> New 3DS thread on the forum. Happy times!
sounds reasonable.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/gallery/yes/yesjacknicholson.gif
Eh. I'm happy with the NES XL I got last fall. Nintendo would have to do a lot to get me to upgrade so soon.
Does anybody know yet if the North American New 3DS will get the multicolored buttons, or are they purple/lavender like the NA Super Nintendo?
@StarDust4Ever
Follow-up Q: Does anybody know yet if Nintendo remembers that there's still a North America??
Yeah Nintendo of America has been completely silent on everything so far this year other than a reminder on social media about the Smash CD offer, which they posted today, and the MM3D Limited Edition. Silence on Kirby too, which should have TV commercials right now.
I feel like a Nintendo Direct is coming any day now.
I hope the New 3DS comes out by the end of this month. I've never had a 3DS and this will be my first one. I guess I'm lucky because my first 3DS experience will be the with the superior version of the 3DS. I will preorder/buy the 3DS as soon as it's announced.
GameStop: New Nintendo 3DS Launches in North America on February 13
http://www.gamnesia.com/news/gamestop-new-nintendo-3ds-launches-in-north-america-on-february-13#.VLR1h7kcSM8
@paburrows YES!!! Finally a release date
@paburrows That's an oddly specific date, so I'm guessing that's the actual release date and not a placeholder.
PA, you sly dog!
@paburrows Like IceClimbers said, that release date does sound pretty realistic. It does coincide with NoA's usual Friday releases. And a month from now gives folks time to pre-order and/or save up. We'll have to wait for official word, but here's hoping it's true if not earlier!
Edit: I'd still hope NoA might still do the Ambassador program to make the rumored month long wait that much shorter for some.
@DTFaux Plus that's when Kirby releases. Gonna take a guess and say that either Majora's Mask 3D or Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate will release on that date, if not both.
I'm sorry, but I'm not the only one who thinks that once the New 3ds comes out they should axe both of the old models to help decrease the confusion?
@paburrows That's sweet news. Its about time someone had the initiative to announce something. And to think I can get 100$ for my trade in.
Yeah like anything on the internet take it with a grain of salt, but it looks pretty ligit since I also heard that Gamestops have promotional posters in their backrooms.
@IceClimbers It'd be super cool if both were released on the same day, but otherwise I'd probably put my money on Monster Hunter. Mainly since that's what they push for the N3DS release in Japan, and I'd suspect the game's pretty much has gone gold for a while and is just looking for the right time to actually hit the streets.
@blackbox64 waiting for MM3D with a surprise faceplate on that day if you preordered both!
@Reverandjames I would say pick up the standard sell for XL
@DTFaux Supposedly word around town is that a Direct is hitting on the 14th
@StitchScout I heard They are discontinuing older 3DS models so I am guessing the stores will just try to get rid of stock by having crazy sales on them.
Yep. $200 for the XL sounds right on the money. I don't have any problems paying that much.
what about the bundle? I will wait for that Xenoblade to come out
i wont be picking up a new 3ds until mh4 comes out. or a xenoblade bundle. or twilight princess bundle
And bam - Nintendo Direct confirmed for Wednesday!
My cheap 3DS is still fresh (to me anyways) so I won't be picking one up just yet, but I did borrow a DS from my brother to play some GBA games (and finish Spirit Tracks one an original DS, a longtime goal of mine). I told him 'when I get a New 3DS next year, I'll give this back to you'. For GBA, I'll hang onto it and surprise him with an upgrade to 3DS (he doesn't play GBA anymore) and pick up one of those rather swanky blue black XLs.
Beyond excited for the Direct, but new games will have to wait too. My Wii U Gamepad met my kid and it wasn't pretty. HUG crack and some bleeding in the LCD panel. Nintendo quoted me 99$ to repair just the screen, but I'll end up paying 140$ to replace.
It's not all bad. I managed to type that and this on said cracked Gamepad. I just can't see the top center portion, so please excuse some poor editing of these comments haha
February 13 seems rather soon considering NoA hasn't even said anything about the system at all. I'm mean, it sounds awesome but I don't know...
As nice as the New 3DS sounds, I think I'll just wait the two or three more years for the next Nintendo handheld to come out.
@chiefeagle02 I am contemplating doing the same thing. But there's so much to play on it, a monster hunter bundle or majora's mask bundle might tempt me. That and the hunch I've got that this one is supposed to run for more than two years...
I got an ambassador 3ds so I'm set but I'm probably gonna get an xl at some point but hey no rush I can still play all the games on the new 3ds and they look great and fast!
@Wilford111 I don't think Europe and North America will get the same release date. Could be something like February 13th for Europe and April 3rd for North America.
Sorry Nintendo, but I'm saving money to buy a PS4. It seems that New 3DS won't run Bloodborne...
Still seems somewhat expensive to me. It is not that we talk about top new hardware...
@zip XL all the way for me, couldent go back to the smaller screen even if its a tiny bit bigger. Regarding pixels, dosent bother me in the slightest as someone who plays alot of retro games and loves virtual console games I dont even consider if the pixels are viewable or not. If the game is good its good, plus a game can still look great pixels and all, providing the art style is well done. Shovel Knight, 1001 spikes & cave story are recent examples.
New Direct January 14th, source:Official Nintendo Instagram.
The Ambassador's £159.99/€169.99 was without a full set of faceplates, though, as the plain white ones aren't included. So, if this is the real price, the Ambassador set wasn't that good a deal. But there probably won't be an official retail price anyway, as Nintendo left that to the individual retailers in recent years.
I wonder if Ambassador owners can get a white set from Nintendo, by the way, as those white plates aren't sold separately.
They are same price as the older 3DS XL models in Australia. It is $219 for a New 3DS and for the New 3DS XL it is $249. You do not get a charger with them though unlike the older 3DS XL models here in Australia, they come packaged with a charger.
@andreoni79 Why not buy both?
It's nice to have an upgrade, but they don't appear to be doing anything with it to make it a must-buy situation.
@GH05T 'Cause he prefer no BC and Online Play Paywall, of course. And trolling, lol.
When is this coming out to the US? I would have thought they would have released it over the holiday season to give them more money, but I guess I was wrong with that guess. Hopefully it comes out soon and with everything working on it (the store). I still remember the 3DS being released and having to wait months for the games to pile out and almost a year for the store to be put on...was not the best sales approach by nintendo. Does anyone know if the New 3DS will play the original DS games, or are they taking that away?
not a bad price! Much better than the original $249.99 price tag! (remember that fellow ambassadors?) I might also sell my current XL to help pay for the new one. IDK though.
So basically the UK price for the standard version is the same price as the € XL. If that is the case I think I will just get mine from Amazon.fr or Amazon.de. (I think the warranty situation with the EU is ok).
If you trade in an old 3DS at gamestop toward a new one, does anyone know a way to system transfer (aside from asking the associates to let you)?
@GH05T No money, maybe? I'm a precarious worker in Italy and gaming is an expensive hobby here. I had no problem upgrading my old DS (the huge gray one) with a DSi because the difference were huge, but N3DS doesn't appeal me at all. Unfortunately, I can't play any big ActionRPG, JRPG or survival horror on my WiiU because, well, I can't find any. Now I can still buy some good 360 game for € 10, but soon I'll have to buy a new home console...
hmm I have an ambassador 3DS if i will system transfer to the new one willi keep my games... and should I buy day one or wait a bit... so many questions...
@erv I guess we'll see at the Direct tomorrow if there are any games that make special use of the new hardware (Majora's Mask) or if there are any more exclusives (Xenoblade Chronicles).
I am a Club Nintendo member. I hope they do the same thing in North America. With Gamestop lowering prices they may be in the process of it coming here.
I want more details about the N3DS before I even consider buying one, but I am very grateful for its release as it has enabled me to buy a 3DS XL NES edition cheap. I learned my lesson after the GBA SP: don't settle for launch colors, wait until a sweet looking special edition before you buy new Nintendo handheld systems.
Tap here to load 76 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...